Emirates Desert Championship R3

More of the same, but at a new location along the Al Faqa Road - right where the old Desert Challenge route used to pass en route to the Dubai finish.  Once again I was starting alongside Ali Al Ketbi, but this time I beat him off the line and headed into the dunes with the green machine in hot pursuit.  The first section ran through some easy dunes, and although I lost the lead running wide on a turn, I was straight back past him when we reached the gravel subkha .  The next section was very technical and didn't give him much chance to get back at me - until I made a dire navigational error and ended up on the moto route! 

Just passing by..

Rather than turn round and retrace my tracks, I decided to carry on, which was a mistake - the moto track continued through some challenging dunes, whereas the auto track turned back across the subkha.  I was beginning to think this nightmare would never end, but eventually I was back at the start/finish straight, but almost a lap behind Al Ketbi.  Towards the end of the race, I was hearing some unhappy noises from the rear, and getting a lot of axle tramp - one of the upper control arm bushes had died.

With a new radiator cap, the engine temperatures have reduced by around 10 deg. C. - the old one wasn't holding the pressure any more.  Even at 5000rpm in 2nd gear we were around 90 C, which is OK.

So once again Newtrix were 2nd in T1, and 3rd overall in the auto division.  Looking back, I should have stayed behind Al Ketbi till the last lap and then got past him on the subkha.  It's annoying, because I haven't been able to translate the Beast's superior speed into a win...yet.

David McBride, Nick Massey, me, Emil Khneisser, Ali Al Ketbi.

The control arm has been replaced at Nanjgel, and we only have a couple of electrical jobs to finish - the main one being re-wiring the wipers.  Then I want to get the exhaust modified to stop the back end of the Beast getting covered in soot.

Video of the event here.
 

Emirates Desert Championship R2

  

Well, it wasn’t just the front diff that needed replacing.  Having decided that we needed to get to the cause of an entirely unrelated engine oil leak, Nanjgel drained the gearbox before splitting the gearbox from the engine.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t only oil that came out of the gearbox – there were a slack handful of links previously belonging to the transfer box chain.  Since the transfer box had already been overhauled once, we decided to replace it as well.  So – long story short  – we now have no oil leaks, better oil pressure and lots of shiny new parts.

R2 was held at my favourite EDC track at Lihbab, and I started alongside Ali Al Ketbi’s green Patrol.  I made the decision to let him lead the first lap so I could learn from any mistakes he made.  After rounding  PC2 we headed across the wide plain, and I was able to use the extra grunt of the Beast to get past him quite easily.

A couple of laps later I was still comfortably ahead, but made a stupid mistake rounding PC3, pulling a front tyre off the rim.  Worse still, I’d left the rattle gun in the garage!  Fortunately help was at hand and I was able to replace the wheel – and then the damn thing wouldn’t start.  A bump start behind a marshal’s LR4 got me going again and I continued to the finish, a lap behind Al Ketbi.

Despite the drama, I ended up with 2^nd in T1 and 3^rd overall, so I now have points in championship.  Al Ketbi’s points don’t count at the moment, as his roll cage lacks certification, so I currently lead T1 and lie 3^rd overall.  Huzzah!

Back at Nanjgel they quickly diagnosed the starter issue – loose wire to the solenoid (again) – and replaced the handbrake pads as well.  Jason solved three electrical issues in one evening of fettling, so we’re ready for Round 3 tomorrow.

Photos courtesy of Tim Ansell (a.k.a The Phantom Blogger).